When I have them I usually have them vegetarian. The lack of pork makes them no less addictive. I also have them without Sichuan peppercorn most of the time. Of course then you want less heat.
Honestly there are many variations. Some contain dried shrimp and Sichuan preserved vegetable is said to be essential, but many make them without.
They are not health food, but just try to stop eating them once you start. I usually eat them with plain white rice and nothing else they're that satisfying.

OZAI ISN’T ZUKO’S FATHER WHICH COMPLETELY THROWS OUT ZUKO AS A LEGITIMATE HEIR TO THE THRONE AND THE ENTIRE ARC OF ZUKO HAVING TWO WARRING BLOODLINES INSIDE HIM TO HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AND ANYONE WHO TRIES TO PULL “WELL OZAI RAISED HIM” WITH ME GETS THE DUNGEON FOR 3948758456 YEARS BECAUSE OZAI WAS AN ABUSIVE **** AND IROH WAS ZUKO’S REAL FATHER IN ANY SENSE OF THE WORD THAT MATTERS AND MIKE AND BRYAN AND GENE YANG ARE IN A TIME OUT NOW THEY ARE GROUNDED FOREVER

THEY TRASHED ZUKO’S DEVELOPMENT AND HIS CHARACTER AND THE STRUGGLES HE WENT THROUGH BY MAKING HIM SOMEONE ELSE’S SON

LITERALLY HIS ENTIRE ARC WAS BASED OFF OF OZAI’S ABUSE AND NEGLECT TOWARDS HIM AND HIM BEING A CHILD WHO JUST WANTED HIS FATHER TO LOVE HIM

THIS IS THE WORST NARRATIVE BETRAYAL IN THE HISTORY OF BETRAYALS

THIS IS ****TIER THAN THE ENTIRETY OF THE LAST AIRBENDER MOVIE WHICH AT LEAST MADE ME LAUGH AT ITS STUPIDITY

I AM IN A RAGE

THIS IS PROBABLY MADDER ABOUT FICTIONAL COMICS CHARACTERS THAN I HAVE EVER BEEN

HOW DARE THEY.

**** the Avatar comics, they are dead to me.

How very ****ing dare you. I’m actually incensed right now, this is absolutely ridiculous and the grossest, grossest thing. I cannot even begin to understand how Bryke could have possibly endorsed a storyline that ****s on everything Zuko went through in the Last Airbender.

Continuity, narrative and character development, what the **** is it? ****. this. mess.

I am JUST SO MAD RIGHT NOW! DO YOU KNOW HOW POWERFUL THAT STORY WAS! TO HAVE AN ABUSIVE FATHER! AND HAVE HIS CHILD, HIS SON, WORK THROUGH THAT, TO OVERCOME HIS FEELINGS OF DUTY AND SICK LOVE TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT! AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT BEING FLESH AND BLOOD IS NO REASON TO ABUSE YOUR CHILDREN OR BLINDLY DO AS YOUR PARENTS TELL YOU! THAT YOU CAN BREAK FREE FROM THEIR INFLUENCE, THAT YOU’RE NOT OBLIGED TO LOVE OR STICK BY FAMILY’S SIDE WHEN FAMILY HURTS YOU!

AND YOU THROW ALL THAT AWAY BY ERASING ALL THIS STRUGGLE WITH A “LOL DOESN’T COUNT HE WASN’T UR DAD BET UR DAD LUVS U CAUSE REAL DADS LOVE THEIR KIDS AND WOULD NEVER HURT THEM AMIRITE”

****

YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

I just thought it was incredibly powerful to have, in a children’s show, the presence of an incredibly abusive biological parent from which the character has to break away from, has to examine and acknowledge that yes, they are my father, my blood, and they’re supposed to protect and love me and in return I am supposed to honor and respect them, but in the end no matter these ties they are not protecting or loving me, they are abusing me, they are hurting me, and I need to break free from their influence.

So often in kid’s media there’s the sentiment that family conquers all, everlasting love and all that, but that’s so not true. So many kids live in abusive households and have to deal with the confusion of being told repeatedly that they need to love and obey the parental figures that terrorize and hurt them.

Plus, the trope always comes back - if they’re abusive, turns out they weren’t your REAL parents! They were abusive fakes! And should have seen that coming because real parents love their kids and would never hurt them (most recent example is Tangled) - but again, so not true. I thought it was just so awesome to have Zuko have to deal with all these feelings, especially as to how they tie in with his feelings on honor, and then what, to pull the rug from underneath him and say well nope he wasn’t actually your dad, the agonizing you did for years over what to do wasn’t for much since A) you’re not the crown prince you never even were and B) he’s not your father. It’s just a trope I detest and I feel really undermines a lot of what Zuko worked so hard to work through.

I’m also told that this might be a fakeout and I hope it is, I just wish they didn’t even GO there.

Like it doesn't even make sense. And it totally dilutes Zuko's character and any development he had in the show. Or ever. This is like some fanfiction bull right here. I do not accept. Nope.

Plus I loved the idea that Iroh considered Zuko a son regardless of blood. Like that is the strongest and most wonderful characteristic of Iroh to me. Their whole relationship was my favorite (except for maybe Zuko/Annabanana).

Like it doesn't even make sense. And it totally dilutes Zuko's character and any development he had in the show. Or ever. This is like some fanfiction bull right here. I do not accept. Nope.

Plus I loved the idea that Iroh considered Zuko a son regardless of blood. Like that is the strongest and most wonderful characteristic of Iroh to me. Their whole relationship was my favorite (except for maybe Zuko/Annabanana).

Who thought this was a good idea?

Originally Posted by annabananalise

Exactly. I mean so much for "you have good and evil warring inside you". Nope, turns out you had a daddy who was good and would have loved you all this time!
I can't believe someone suggested this to Bryke and they agreed. IT'S TERRIBLE! I REFUSE!

Or ask me to email you a link to mayoclinic.com? Is it that much of an imposition to do it yourself? Is it too grunt worthy for a lawyer to open a web browser?

Originally Posted by annabananalise

Those are muckety mucks. Could be lawyers, engineers, or some sort of VP at a PR firm.

It's less about their area of specialization and more about their attitude: ME. It's all about ME.

I once had a job doing proposal work for an engineering firm. I was working about 60-70 hours a week trying to get this thing done.

One of the muckety mucks had written a one-page, single spaced document for inclusion in the proposal. Everything had to be brought into Word and submitted electronically. I ask him to email me the text and he flat out said, "No." He couldn't be bothered. (And yet, I never saw him in the office at 11pm when the rest of us were finishing up for the day.)

Muckety mucks. They ruin things for everyone. Try to avoid them, your life will be richer for it.

I'm researching making my own vanilla extract and I see that you can make it alcohol and sugar free by using food grade vegetable glycerine instead of the more traditional vodka. Sounds healthier to me since I use it a lot in recipes that are not cooked so the alcohol doesn't have a chance to evaporate. I also don't like the idea of giving the alcohol to my kids or taking it myself, especially while I'm pregnant, which I currently am. I really don't know much about the glycerine though - What are your thoughts on this?

My short term memory has left the building. Today I come in and pick up on a project that I started yesterday. Two hours into it, I realize I am missing some notes from yesterday. Hmmm, I remember throwing them away. Why would I do that? OMG! Because I finished it yesterday and didn't remember!!! I guess I will call today's 2 hours "double checking" . . . . .

ETA: I told my boss & she just laughed and laughed. I am glad she thinks it's funny and not "dear lord we need to get rid of this inefficient chickapoo"!